1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to grid computing systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing a virtual printer in a grid computing system.
2. Related Art
A grid computing system enables a user to utilize distributed resources (e.g., computing resources, storage resources, network bandwidth resources) by presenting to the user the illusion of a single computer with many capabilities. Typically, the grid computing system integrates in a collaborative manner various networks so that the resources of each network are available to the user. Moreover, the grid computing system generally has a grid distributed resource manager, which interfaces with the user, and a plurality of grid subdivisions, wherein each grid subdivision has the distributed resources. Each grid subdivision includes a plurality of nodes, wherein a node provides a resource.
The user can submit a job to the grid computing system via the grid distributed resource manager. The job may include input data, identification of an application to be utilized, and resource requirements for executing the job. The job may include other information. Typically, the grid computing system uses a scheduler having a hierarchical structure to schedule the jobs submitted by the user. The scheduler may perform tasks such as locating resources for the jobs, assigning jobs, and managing job loads.
If the user desires to print the results of the submitted job, the user may submit a script file with the job. This script file may include a print command for a specific printer and printer-specific information, which gets executed after the job is completed.
Unfortunately, this print process does not utilize the benefits of the grid computing system even though a printer is also a resource. That is, benefits such as load sharing, higher resource utilization, and flexibility in terms of selecting resources from a pool of available resources, are not applied to print resources.